As a category 1 storm, Hurricane Milton’s current phase has caused power outages in Florida. Multiple tornadoes and flooding events have been reported and the Duke Energy has updated its status regarding the estimated time required for the restoration.
Within 24 hours of this event, the company informed its 2 million customers to take appropriate safety precautions, and it reported around 850,000 power outages to be restored. This article will guide you through the process and inform you of the most important actions.
The Safety Tips to Follow According to Duke Energy
- Watch out for trees or other materials in contact with the power lines, and call the authorities before doing anything.
- The floodwater, mud, or debris around the downed power lines may be in contact with the electricity. So, stay away from them.
- If you are in a car and a power line falls across it, better stay inside. If getting out is mandatory due to fire or any other reasons, be sure to jump and land on both feet.
How to Report the Power Outages? How to Request a Repair?
You can visit the official website of Duke Energy and report the outage. Or you can install the Duke Energy app on your smartphone. Another way is to text OUT to 57801, which may apply to the standard texting charges. Here is a guide to report it through the official website.
- Open Duke Energy’s official website and look for the “How can we help you” section.
- In that, click on “Outages” and it will redirect you to the location option.
- Choose your location and the sublocation, or input your zip code.
- In the next section, you can report an outage or request a light repair.
How Duke Energy Restores the Power?
Usually, the power is restored in sequences, with priority to the most affected and by considering public health and safety. The first move is to locate the downed power lines and cut down the electricity flow.
The power lines of emergency services and large geographic areas with the most number of customers are restored parallelly. The lines near the power plants should also be repaired with urgency to keep their flow to the neighborhoods.
When any natural disasters occur, the power generation source, transmission lines, substation, main distribution lines, transformers, the service lines, everything should be considered, and there are chances that the estimated time will become longer than expected.
When will the Restoration be Issued?
The storm director of Duke Energy, Todd Fountain, has said that the company is working tirelessly to assess the damage caused by this storm and start the restoration measures as soon as possible. The estimated time will be issued officially to all the customers this afternoon.
The authorities warn the citizens not to delve into a repair on their own as it needs a licensed electrician to inspect the situation first. If you are using generators, make sure to turn them off when crews are repairing in your area as it increases the load that can be dangerous to the crews.
As a reputed power public utility that handles electricity, the Duke Energy Foundation, with its customer base of 2 million and usage capacity of 12,300 megawatts of energy, is trusted by citizens all over Florida, and the customers expect it to tackle this issue as soon as possible.
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